Contemplate
by Grasshopper
Summary: [04seasons, Kakashi x Sakura] Watching children play from her office window, Sakura ponders the silverhaired man sleeping on her office couch.


**Title:** Con(template)  
**Author:** Grasshopper (A.K.A. The Undertaker's Muse)  
**Rated:** PG-13  
**Series:** 04seasons  
**Warnings:** Het, humor, hints of angst, weirdness.  
**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Spoilers:** I'll play it safe and say chapter 337 and up. This is something of a future-fic, set about ten years after the current storyline. (Somewhere in there, they managed to retrieve Sasuke and kick the stupid out of him. Guess they finally got a better mousetrap.)  
**Pairings:** Hatake Kakashi x Haruno Sakura  
**Summary:** Watching children play from her office window, Sakura ponders the silver-haired man sleeping on her office couch.  
**Author's Notes:** Woohoo! My first completed KakaSaku fic! I haven't really been into the pairing for long, but the more I read, the more I like.  
**Disclaimer:** All things _Naruto_ belong to Kishimoto Masashi-sensei. Grassy only lays claim to the plot.

* * *

**Autumn: falling leaves, crunchy sounds, sleeping, childhood memories**

The laughter was what first captured Sakura's attention.

Turning away from her ever-increasing paperwork, the medic-nin gazed out the window of her ground-floor office. A small cluster of young Academy students passed by, "training" energetically as they trekked on toward their destination. She continued to watch while the group did as much damage as possible to the piles of fallen leaves that littered the area, her ears catching the occasional _crunch-crunch_ of footwear meeting dead vegetation.

It was a magnificent feeling, to know that even now, only a scant few years after the war, children could continue to find pleasure in the same simple things she had done at that age. Despite Ino's girly-girl appearance and mannerisms, the blonde was just as rough-and-tumble as a good many of their male peers and had somehow always convinced Sakura to join in on her escapades.

A quirky smile bloomed across Sakura's face as she thought of how Ino was **still** like that. And she **still** wanted Sakura to join in, though wasn't quite as successful in gaining an accomplice as she once was. Sakura's grin faded slightly as she remembered just how long it took for Ino to regain those childishly playful parts of herself after Asuma-san's death.

Sakura's gaze moved instinctively toward the figure lazing across the couch that faced her desk, uncovered eye closed in slumber as limp fingers continued to guard the small orange book they clutched. Somehow, despite Hatake Kakashi's often suicidal-seeming battle tactics, the man was still among the survivors of the war. He had managed to be their team's rock, their touchstone, in the midst of a war that few had ever thought to survive. Even - **especially** - Naruto, who had taken on the task of being the newly-recovered Sasuke's watchdog, had floundered at times; that great strength of heart nearly crumbling a time or two under the pressure. Sakura smiled to think of her team as they currently were.

Naruto, subdued at times by the many things he had seen and done throughout the war, was still a shining beacon of hope and inspiration to Konoha. He'd settled well into his role as Rokudaime Hokage ever since Tsunade-shishou's decision to finally retire, yet still conned Iruka-sensei into buying him ramen and continued to create (mostly) useless, perverted jutsu. Sasuke, on the other hand…

Sasuke was something of a recluse, as many continued to distrust him to some extent. Even of those that did trust him, most didn't like him at all. Naruto, ever-determined to kick the gloomy bastard-ness out of the Uchiha, kept him close by as a bodyguard. The snarky arguments and explosive sounds of battle could often be heard for miles as they sparred.

And Sakura continued to keep balance for the two reckless idiots; standing back and letting them work things out as they would, but offering them support when needed. She even went so far as to knock their heads together - literally **and** figuratively - when one or both had crossed a line they never should have.

Yet none of them could have managed it without Kakashi's continued support. His belief in, love for, and dependency upon them kept the three grounded and steadfast. Once the man had truly become a teammate rather than a teacher, Kakashi's former students realized just how much they, too, needed Kakashi. And all because the man had willingly decided to bare his face to them.

What a face it was, too… Sakura leered a bit at Kakashi's sleeping figure.

The man wasn't beautiful like Sasuke or Sai, but he had a lean gracefulness to him that reminded Sakura of a wolf.

The rest of him, as they had discovered during a particularly drunken game of strip poker, matched the silver-haired man's face quite well. Lean and wiry, with corded muscles that hinted at the strength held in a shinobi-trained body. Scars crisscrossed here and there, as expected of any ninja without healing powers similar to Naruto's. A paleness that matched his rather silvery coloring, yet still held an aura of health…

Sakura started at the appreciative hum that escaped her, eyes once more focusing on the now-awake object of her thoughts. Kakashi cocked an eyebrow as she glared down at the paperwork still strewn across the large desk. Inner Sakura cursed as a thin line of pink crossed Sakura's nose.

"Something on your mind," he rasped, the sleep still clouding his words indicative of just how much he'd allowed himself to relax.

"N-nothing. Paperwork should just be outlawed, that's all."

"Tsk, tsk." A lesser person would have choked on the amusement radiating from Kakashi. "This coming from one of the most dedicated bookworms I've ever had the pleasure to meet."

Daring to glare at her teammate, Sakura grit out, "I like books. I like scrolls. I like **knowledge**. That doesn't mean I like doing paperwork."

"Ho?" With hardly a warning, the man moved from the couch to settle upon a corner of the medic-nin's desk.

Blush long gone, Sakura radiated irritation.

Kakashi glowed with innocence and ill-hidden humor.

"**Hatake-san**."

Kakashi shivered at the icy death in Sakura's tone. "Hn?"

"Get off my desk before I remove you myself." She cracked her ungloved fingers with a smile that matched her menacing tone.

"Ah. Well, then-" Even as Kakashi drew himself up from his perch, a slim finger poked him lightly.

The satisfying _crash_ as body met wall drew a happy hum from Sakura.

"That was mean, Sakura-chan," Kakashi objected weakly, rubbing a sore shoulder.

"Ho? And here I thought I was helping. Sorry, Kakashi-kun," she chirped, without a hint of remorse.

Kakashi affected a pout, trying for a wounded look.

Sakura's grin was oddly reminiscent of both Naruto's foxy smile of success and Sasuke's vengeful smirk.

"I'd say something about listening to your elders, but you'd assume I was being a pervert and hit me. Right?"

She continued to smile.

"Hai, hai. Understood, Sakura-sama." He settled back down on the couch gingerly.

"Good boy."

* * *

**The End**


End file.
